Critic's Choice: Constellations of Cars on September 19 at the hi-dive

Before coming to rest in 2006, Laymen Terms often got lumped in with the pop-punk milieu of its day. But a keen listener could tell that Andy Tanner and company were coming from a different place than their contemporaries, with roots more in '90s Midwestern indie rock and emo. These days, Tanner splits his time between two outfits, the punk-inflected Headhum and Constellations of Cars, the latter of which (due at the hi-dive on Sunday, September 19) pairs him with Kellie Palmblad of dream-pop legends Eyes Caught Fire. And while Americana might seem like a fitting designation for the project, which flirts with an earnest folk informed by classical sensibilities, the music is experimental enough, with its organic percussion and emotive atmospherics, that it doesn't fit firmly in a specific genre. What you get here is emotional catharsis without the angst.

Tom Murphy is a writer, visual artist and musician who grew up three blocks from Denver in Aurora, Colorado.